To get into a Dutch university, you still need a secondary school education of the highest level, called VWO here, but, as you say, if you can afford it, there are plenty of alternatives abroad.

The last bullwarks against the malarky you describe seem to be our Technical Universities that train engineers up to the MSc and PhD levels, but they show signs of crumbling as well. Still, graduating incompetent engineers is rare as protests from industry would be vicious.

Outside of the engineering and some exact fields things are indeed turning into a sick joke fast.